The Third Order
by Rossaldinho7
Summary: After the events of Order 66, Ahsoka Tano encounters two mysterious, blue-cloaked figures
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Order 66

**Clone Captain Rex**

Clone Captain Rex was conflicted. For five years he had served the republic, sometimes under the very man leading him towards the Jedi Temple, but the man he had once known was gone, replaced by the Sith Lord Darth Vader. His fellows seemed to be blindly following the Sith Apprentice's orders, but Rex was not going to. Using the attack as cover, he snuck away, taking off his helmet, he slipped away down a corridor and started looking for younglings before the Sith could find them. Soon, he found a few, who were cowering in a cupboard, their eyes closed.

"Step away, Rex," said a familiar voice behind him. He turned, to see the familiar Togruta padawan, both lightsabers drawn, but not ignited.

Rex turned, his hands up at his helmet. He unclasped it, and took it off.

"I am not here to hurt you, Ahsoka Tano, nor these padawans," said Rex "If my brothers are willing to stoop to this level, I no longer consider myself one of them. I am a soldier of the Republic, but it's not the Republic anymore. I'm going AWOL."

Ahsoka looked directly into Rex's eyes, then lowered her lightsabers. "You three can come out," said Ahsoka "He's not here to hurt us."

The three younglings, two humans and a twilek, scurried out of the cupboard to hide behind Ahsoka. Rex holstered his weapons and walked out of the room, Ahsoka and the three younglings following behind.

"What's your plan?" asked Rex "Surely you didn't mean to fight the whole Republic army in here?"

"Protect the younglings, try and get to the hangar, steal a ship and run," Ahsoka shrugged "Improvise around that if needed."

"You really are Anakin's apprentice," said Rex

"What happened to him?" she asked "I've not seen him since the Chancellor was kidnapped, he told me to stay here."

"It's a long story, and I don't have time to explain it now," said Rex "I'll let you know once we get out of this mess."

Ahsoka nodded. As they got towards the hangar, they found their way blocked by three clone troopers. Rex drew his guns, firing at one, while Ahsoka buried her lightsabers in another. The three padawans deflected fire from the third trooper, taking him out as well. Ahsoka continued towards the hangar. When they arrived, the hangar appeared deserted, all the Jedi that usually manned it, apparently fighting in the battle.

"We should take the gunship," said Rex "It looks enough like one of ours, it'll go unnoticed, we take a Jedi ship we'll be sitting ducks."

"Agreed," said Ahsoka "But we should ditch it as soon as possible, get a less recognisable ship."

**Ahsoka**

They entered the small gunship. The Jedi had heavily modified it to give it hyperspace capabilities, which other gunships, designed as troop transports, did not have. While this made the compartment space smaller, it was plenty large enough for the five of them. Rex and Ahsoka went into the pilot compartment and powered up the ship, Ahsoka piloting, while Rex manned the guns. Ahsoka used the force to open the bay doors, flying the gunship out and into the upper atmosphere, looking down mournfully at the fires that were growing at the Jedi temple. Then, her Jedi training kicked in, and she locked away her feelings. After all, grief could lead to the dark side.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: En-route to Tatooine**

**I probably shouldn't be uploading this so soon after the last chapter. I have an exam later today, which I haven't revised enough for, but the amount of followers I got in just a few days convinced me to update sooner. I have decided I will respond to all reviews on every fifth chapter of this story, as I feel this will give me time to formulate a good response. Anyway, a little bit more about the Padawans that came with the group...**

**Padawan Seria**

Padawan Seria was distressed. She had tried to suppress her feelings as the masters had taught her, but she was panicking. She had seen her master gunned down by the very soldiers that had saved both their lives so many times. There was a loud grinding noise, and then Ahsoka was in front of her.

"You need to calm down, Seria," said Ahsoka "Your force powers are hurting the ship."

"I can't," said Seria "It's all too much. My masters are gone, the people I looked up to, respected, what hope do we have against such evil."

"Tell me about the first time you felt your connection to the Force," said Ahsoka

"It was on Felucia," said Seria "One of the Acklay had broken through our tribe's defences, it was going to kill us, but I felt a connection to it. I reached out with my mind, and it calmed. I was able to get it to go outside the tribe's boundaries again. It didn't come back. My parents sent me to the Jedi Temple for training."

The groaning noise had stopped.

"It sounds like a beautiful planet," said Ahsoka "I did not have the pleasure of ever going there."

"It's a dangerous place," said Seria "The Acklay are just one of the monsters that inhabit those jungles. Neither the Separatists or the Republic could get a proper foothold there. I would suggest we go there, but we would not find a ship there. But it does have a wild beauty to it."

"We will go there some day," promised Ahsoka "If anything, it'll be a good hiding place if the Republic find us."

Ahsoka returned to the cockpit, sealing it behind her. The other two padawans, both human, brother and sister name Dean and Sera, came to sit on either side of her, giving her the comfort of their presence. The three friends sat, in companionable silence.

**Ahsoka**

After sealing the cockpit against sound, Ahsoka sank into the co-pilots chair.

"One crisis averted," said Ahsoka, she looked tired, as if she hadn't slept in days "But we're running from the full might of the Republic, I don't know how long we can keep this up, if these padawans can't even control their force powers, what hope do we have of passing undetected?"

"Once we get a ship, we need to get out of civilized areas," said Rex "I would suggest Naboo, it's neutral territory inside Republic control, we might be able to hide there for a few cycles, but I think we should aim to get out of Republic space as soon as possible."

"Good idea, Rex," said Ahsoka "We'll head to Tatooine first, sell this gunship to the Jawas for scrap, use the money to buy a new ship on the black market."

"If we can get a ship, it'll be there," said Rex "I'll set the coordinates, you get some sleep."

Ahsoka nodded, and went back into the compartment.

**Dean**

Knight Ahsoka came back into the room. Dean got up from where he had been sleeping, curled up with Seria and Sera.

"What's our plan?" asked Dean, immediately.

"We are going to get some sleep while we're in hyperspace," said Ahsoka "I will keep you three safe, I promised Master Plo before he... left."

"Do you think he still lives?" said Dean

"I very much doubt it," Ahsoka sighed "I would not be surprised if we four were the last Jedi in existence, I can hope that the Jedi that were away from the temple escaped with their lives, but if all of the clone troopers were told to turn on their former commanders, there is a very slim chance that a few survived."

"Have hope, Knight Ahsoka," said Dean "We may find more Jedi yet."

Ahsoka smiled. "We will certainly try our best, young one."


	3. Chapter 3

**Ahsoka**

The ship landed on Tatooine's Mos Eisley Spaceport. Controlled by the Hutts, Tatooine was currently outside of either Republic or Separatist control, a hub for all the scum of the galaxy- slavers, bounty hunters, criminals, Hutts. It wasn't safe to stay here, and it was only a matter of time, and how big the bounty was for captured Jedi, before somebody on this planet thought it was a good idea to attack and capture them. On top of that, the Hutts don't take kindly to Republic soldiers on their planet. The solution, was that Ahsoka would leave her lightsabers behind, taking one of Rex's blaster pistols as protection, as she went to sell the ship, and buy a new one.

She approched a spaceport attendant, and told him that she had a ship to sell, and was looking to buy another, but that she wished to be discreet, passing him 50 credits as a bribe. He nodded, and followed her back to the ship.

"A republic gunship," said the attendant, his voice sounded surprised.

"We are fugitives from the Republic," said Ahsoka "We are looking to sell this ship, and buy a second of equal or better value to take us somewhere safer."

"I may have just the ship," he said "Come, come."

He led her into a smaller, private hangar, where a Correlian Corvette stood in its moorings.

"Very nice," said Ahsoka, examining the ship. It was designed to carry a small complement of troops with minimal crew needed to pilot it. It could very well be piloted by two people, with additional guns on either side, manned by two additional crew. It was almost designed more for luxury than battle, although she had heard that on Correlia, ships like this had been used as mobile command centres.

"How much?" asked Ahsoka, turning to the spaceport attendant, but as she turned, she noticed he had a gun pointed at her. Immediately, her Jedi reflexes kicked in, she jumped over the head of the attendant, pulling out her gun as she did. By the time she landed, her gun was cocked at his head.

"Don't move a muscle, or I'll shoot," she said. As she did, two red lights started moving over her chest.

"How fast can you shoot, Jedi?" asked the attendant, smiling "My men can shoot faster, I assure you. Now, why don't you put that weapon down."

The doors to the corvette opened, and three more men came down the ramp aiming assault rifles at her. She slowly lowered her laser pistol to the ground. One of the men brought out electro-cuffs and made to move towards her. However, before he could reach her, five small balls fell from the sky, three landing around Ahsoka, and two landing over where the red lights were still trained on her. All of them were flashing with a red light. All four of the men immediately threw themselves to the ground, but Ahsoka remained standing, the Force telling her it wasn't dangerous to her. She sensed other presences in the Force, more powerful than any single Jedi she had ever felt, dropping silently from the ceiling. The three bombs around her blinked off and smoke began filling the room. The familiar sound of lightsabers igniting filled the room, and she could see, from the number of lightsabers, at least a dozen Jedi were weaving through the fog. She heard yells as the lightsabers sliced through flesh and bone, the crack of laser rifles and pistols as the men attempted to fight back, then, the lightsabers deactivated. No longer able to see, just feel the extremely powerful force presences, Ahsoka concentrated on clearing the fog from the room. The four men she could see, were all on the ground, apparently dead, and two cloaked figures were standing in front of her.

Both appeared human, the younger one female, the older one male. Both were wearing blue-coloured cloaks, adorned with numerous lightsabers. Ahsoka recovered her pistol, and made for the door.

"I thank you for your assistance, but I am afraid I am unable to thank you now, if they attacked me here, they surely know about my companions back on the ship," said Ahsoka, as she walked briskly out of the hangar "But if you two are Jedi, you might be better tagging along with us, the Repbulic is trying to hunt down all Jedi, we're branded enemies of the Republic."

"You doubt that we are Jedi?" asked the older male

"I don't think you're Sith," said Ahsoka "But I've never seen those blue cloaks before. My instincts say I can trust you, we can talk about who you are later on."

Ahsoka walked back towards the ship, collecting Rex and the padawans, telling him to fly the gunship into the rather sizable cargo hold of the Correllian Corvette, then didn't speak again until they were off Tatooine.

"All right, who are you two, and why did you help us?" asked Ahsoka If you aren't Sith, and you aren't Jedi, where did you come from? I'd like to know why we're so important to you."

"This will be difficult to explain," said the man "But I shall start with our names, I am Saber Master Ray Tanner, and this is my Padawan, Daria Reesan, of the order of the Saber Knights."

"Never heard of you," said Seria

"We are a secret order," said Tanner "Hidden on the planet Illum, the same place the four of you went to obtain your lightsaber crystals. We have found a way to grow our own saber crystals, so we do not use that cave anymore. If you are looking for a place to hide, our temple on Illum is the best place to do so."

"I still don't feel I can trust you," said Ahsoka "What if you are leading us into a trap?"

"Aside from the fact we've just rescued you from one?" Daria shrugged "I guess you'll just have to trust us."

"Peace, Daria," said Tanner "They've just been betrayed by their own, it must have taken an extraordinary amount of willpower to deny the orders that they sent you, Captain Rex."

"Let's just say, I'm loyal to my comrades, including the Jedi," said Rex "They've saved my life, and I theirs, more times than I can count, and I owe them more than I owe the Republic."

"You chose a handful of Jedi over the entire army of the Republic?" asked Daria "That must take extraordinary willpower, the Jedi remaining are lucky to have you."

"I must know if any Jedi still live," said Ahsoka "I owe it to them to try and find them before the Republic does, I refuse to believe that all the Jedi are extinct. An old comrade of mine, Obi Wan Kenobi, went to Utapau to apprehend General Grievous of the Trade Federation, if he's alive, I must know."

"Is there a safer way to do this?" asked Tanner "Utapau is surely under Republic control by now if your friend has been successful. Is there not a Jedi freqency you can use to contact him?"

"I can certainly try," said Ahsoka "Rex, patch me into the comm system."

After entering the codes for the frequency, she started scanning for messages, and found a familiar blip. Every Padawan that went into the war waits for this blip. It was the coded retreat signal, a request for all Jedi to return to the temple, a signal that the war is over. Ahsoka knew, however, that it was a trap. The Jedi Temple was overrun by clone troopers, any Jedi that did make it home would be killed.

"We have to return to the temple," said Ahsoka

"You're out of your mind," said Daria, raising her eyebrows at Ahsoka "You want to go into the capital of the Republic, protected by thousands of ships."

"We need to turn off that signal," said Ahsoka "If the surviving Jedi are to have any chance at all, we need to make sure none of them return to the temple."

"I just pulled you out of there, Ahsoka, I'm not bringing you back there," said Rex

"I'm not asking you to," said Ahsoka "I'll take the gunship, and fly in undetected, turn off the signal."

"I won't let you go alone," said Rex "As far as I know, you are the oldest surviving Jedi, you are too important to risk."

"Then who will watch the Padawans?" asked Ahsoka "They are most certainly not combat ready, and I am not bringing them into what I know is a trap."

"May I make a suggestion?" asked Ray Tanner "Myself and Daria will accompany you to the temple, the coordinates are programmed into the ship already, Rex can bring the Padawans to Illum, while we go investigate the temple."

"That seems like the best plan," said Rex "Go get in the gunship, we're dropping out of hyperspace for another jump in a few clicks, be ready."

Ahsoka led the two Saber Knights to the gunship, and fired it up, as the ship came out of hyperspace, Ahsoka forced the door open, and flew out, setting the coordinates for Coruscant.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ahsoka**

It was surprisingly easy to slip past Coruscant's significant defences, and land next to the Jedi temple. Smoke was rising from different areas of the temple. Within, the rooms were wrecked, clone troopers patrolled the temple, floor, ignoring the Jedi bodies they kept silent vigil over. Ahsoka ignited her two lightsabers, as the two Saber Knights followed suit, all three deflecting blaster bolts as they made their way towards the holocron room. However, they met very little resistance as they reached the room. Obi Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda were in the room, to Ahsoka's great surprise and relief.

"Master Obi Wan?" she asked, hardly daring to believe her good fortune

He turned, and there was no mistaking the Jedi Master now.

"Ahsoka, what happened, where's Anakin?" asked Obi Wan

Ahsoka didn't have the heart to tell him the truth.

"We came to deactivate the homing beacon," said Master Tanner "Apparently, you two beat us to it."

"Dark times, these are, for the Jedi," said Master Yoda "Found security footage, I have, watch it, we should."

Obi Wan shot a look at Tanner, as he tried to place him, then turned his attention to the footage.

They watched as clone troopers shot down Padawans.

"Painful to watch, this is," said Yoda "Turn it off, you should, lest your grief lead you down a dark path."

"Our emotions are part of who we are as people," said Master Tanner "Good or bad, it is never good to bottle them up for too long, that is how evil is made."

"I must see the face of the Sith Lord," said Obi Wan "You saw the lightsaber cuts on the Padawan's bodies, the Sith Lord was here."

Then, a hooded Anakin Skywalker walked into the hologram, cutting down several padawans as he went. The hoodded Anakin then knelt as a second figure came on the scene.

"You have done well, Lord Vader," said the cloaked figure, in a raspy voice that seemed vaguely familiar to Ahsoka, although she couldn't quite place it.

"Anakin," said Obi Wan, sinking to his knees "We expected so much."

"I didn't know how to tell you, Master," said Ahsoka "I should have seen it coming."

"You should not blame yourself, Ahsoka," said Obi Wan "If anyone is to blame for Anakin's betrayal, it is I."

"The time for assigning blame, this is not," said Master Yoda "Return to Senator Organa, we should."

"You are welcome to join us, Ahsoka," said Obi Wan "But I sense you have other plans."

"I wasn't alone when I escaped the temple," said Ahsoka "Clone Captain Rex, it seems, was more loyal to the Jedi than the Republic, he helped myself and 3 Padawans escape to Illum, where these two hail from. I can't explain now, but if we meet again, I will give you the full tale."

"Rex's loyalty is commendable," said Obi Wan "Very well, I wish you all the luck in the galaxy. Be careful, there are two Sith Lords out in the galaxy again, any surviving Jedi will need to be on their toes."

"I'll keep an eye out for more Jedi," said Ahsoka "If you find any, send them to Illum, we'll find them from there."


	5. Chapter 5

**Padawan Seria**

It had been a few days since they had landed on the planet. The Saber Knights had welcomed them in with open arms, and given them quarters together. Dean and Sera were content to just sit and wait for Ahsoka to return, but Seria was restless. She left the room after the third day, finding Rex standing guard outside.

"Something wrong, Seria?" he asked

"I feel restless," said Seria "I'm going for a walk, don't worry about me, the temple is safe enough, and I'm hardly defenceless."

"Don't go too far," said Rex "I gave Ahsoka my word I would protect you, and I honour my word."

Seria nodded, and began exploring the temple. It had a similar layout to the Jedi Temple, with a library, numerous sleeping quarters and a few different training rooms. When she was passing the training rooms, she saw a class in session, and stopped to watch. An older woman was sitting, cross-legged, in the centre of the room, her hands up to either side, as around twelve padawans duelled around her against hovering lightsabers that seemed to mimic the moves of a trained force user. Suddenly, Seria had a thought, and she opened herself to the Force. She was correct. Each one of the twelve lightsabers duelling against individual padawans were controlled by the woman in the middle, her Force presence shining like a beacon, as several less-bright strands connected the lightsabers to her. Whoever this woman was, she was more powerful than any Jedi Seria had ever seen fight. It would certainly be interesting to see how this woman fought.

As she thought this, the woman raised a hand, the strands she could see became taught and the lightsabers flew towards her, attaching themselves on her body.

"Danzen, your technique is flawless, but you show no imagination," said the woman "We all know you are masters of your lightsaber combat style, it's using that style to the best of your ability, and being able to surprise your opponent that is the key to victory. Remember Master Tanner's lesson? Derza, you still need work on perfecting your lightsaber style, meet me later on today and I'll help you work on it. Now, how can I help you, Padawan Seria?"

Many of the Padawans turned to look at Seria as she looked at the ground.

"I was bored, Master, and went exploring in the temple, came across your class," she replied, drawing her foot in a circle on the ground, averting her eyes from the stares of the other padawans.

The woman surveyed her for a moment, then a deactivated lightsaber flew from her belt to hover in front of her. Seria took the lightsaber tentatively, and ignited it. It was a yellow blade, like many of the training lightsabers she had used when learning lightsaber combat. The laser frequency was dialled down a lot, so the worst that could happen would be minor burns. She walked forward into the centre of the students, who had started muttering.

"I'm afraid I do not know your name, miss," said Seria, as she kept her lightsaber up in the guard position, ready for the woman to make the first move.

"Sona Seer," said the woman, then, she appeared to vanish into thin air.

Seria might have been surprised by this, but one of the first things the Jedi teach, is the ability to look without seeing. She was moving so fast, that Seria's eyes couldn't see her. So, she closed her eyes, and reached out through the Force. She turned, bringing her lightsaber up to block Sona's lightsaber from behind. She opened her eyes to see the woman smiling in approval. Then she was on the attack, her lightsaber so fast, it was a blur. It was taking all of Seria's energy to block the attacks. It didn't make it any easier that Sona's image kept fluttering in and out of focus, like a bad holonet connection. Seria threw herself to the side, using the Force to flip herself out of danger, and she threw her lightsaber at Sona's back.

Sona turned, stopping the lightsaber in it's tracks. Slowly, she turned it around so it was facing Seria. Then, six other lightsabers, all yellow-bladed, joined the first in the air, all seven pointed at Seria, Seria pushed back with her own Force powers, stopping the lightsabers from flying at her and skewering her. The amount of power behind the lightsabers was intense, she could barely keep them from flying at her. Seria, once again, saw the strands connecting the lightsabers to Sona. Maybe there was another way to do this. Her hands still up, she tried moving one of the lightsabers to the side slightly, crossing one Force connection with the other. Both broke, and the lightsabers began falling to the ground. Relinquishing her hold on the other lightsabers, Seria put all her power into bringing those two lightsabers to her hands. A split-second after that, she jumped, using the Force, out of the way, as five lightsabers buried themselves in the floor where she had once been.

She landed on the wall of the temple, about halfway up, now with two lightsabers held in a battle stance, and two strands of power connecting her to the wall. Taking her chance at the now apparently defenceless Sona Seer, she propelled herself off the wall, meaning to land behind Sona, putting both lightsabers in front of her neck. It didn't work out that way, Sona Seer twisted out of the way, using Seria's momentum to slam her into the ground face down. Dazed but unhurt, Seria slowly turned over, to find one of her own lightsabers at her chest.

"Very good, Seria," said Sona "I haven't had this much fight from one of my padawans in a long time, which lightsaber style were you using?"

"It's my own, Master Sona," said Seria "None of the other styles really suited me, so I adapted some jungle techniques that I learned on my homeworld, I call it wild style, but it doesn't really have a proper name yet."

"I have heard it rumoured, that when a person creates their own style, and becomes master of it, they are nigh unstoppable in combat," said Sona "You're not there yet, but anybody who can give me a fight like that is very close."

Seria bowed respectively, and many of the students, who had been watching, made to leave. Seria made to follow them, when Sona called her back.

"I notice you only have a single lightsaber on your belt, I have a couple spare, if you need it," she said

"I've only ever used a single lightsaber in the past," said Seria "I only took the other one off you to lessen your advantage, guess it didn't really work."

"It was a good strategy," said Sona "Against most Jedi or Sith, it would have allowed you to gain the upper hand, it is just a pity you were fighting a Saber Knight, who carries many lightsabers, and masters many lightsaber styles. Even if you don't use them, additional lightsabers would be very valuable to you, as proven in the earlier fight. It seems to fit your invented style more than a single saber. I have many spare in storage, you can take your pick."

"I would be honoured," said Seria, following Sona into an adjoining room "I thank you for the sparring session, Master, I would like to spar again some time, if you're willing."

"No need to be so shy, Seria," said Master Sona "Anyone who can fight like that has nothing to be ashamed about, you may not have lasted long against me, but I have no doubt you would be able to beat any of the other students in this class in a fair fight."

"What would you consider a fair fight?" asked Daria

"A fight between two equally trained fighters in their respected disciplines," said Sona "The Jedi, the Sith, the Saber Knights, many people argue the relative power of one group over the other, but generally, the best fight comes from two equally trained fighters against each other, you learn more from fighting each other than you ever learn in either of your time before the fight."

Sona began passing Seria lightsabers, trying to find one that fit her hand, and that she liked. Eventually, she decided on one that just seemed to fit in her hand, it was blue, the same colour as the one she already used.

"That is a fine choice," said Sona "That's an old lightsaber, from the times of the Old Republic, see the curved blade? It was made to fit the hand of the person who forged it, but it seems to fit your hand almost perfectly. You should feel honoured to wield such a blade."

Bowing respectfully to Sona, she left the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Rex**

Seria had been restless, all the Jedi were, they thought they would be safer here. Rex didn't need to use the Force to see that all three of the padawans were bored out of their mind in the featureless room.

"Come on," said Rex "You guys need to blow off some steam, too."

"We should wait for Seria," said Dean, nervously "We should all go together if we go anywhere."

"You don't need to worry about Rex," said Seria, as Rex saw her appear down the corridor "If he was going to kill us, why bring us in here, where he's surrounded by powerful force users."

"Doesn't mean I fully trust him yet," said Dean, looking at Rex suspiciously.

"Did any of you fight with me personally in the clone wars?" asked Rex

"My master Aayla Secura and me were with you in the liberation of Hoth about a year ago," said Sera "And the further campaigns to secure that system."

"Was there any indication there that I was untrustworthy?" asked Rex

"You saved my life," said Sera "You probably don't remember, but there was a cave-in when we were excavating one of the wampa caves that supposedly was a separatist hideout."

"I remember," said Rex "Aayla Secura offered to give me a medal, which I refused. It was my job to protect the Jedi."

"O.K, Rex," said Dean "If my sister says you can be trusted, and you truly did save her, I have no problems with you, don't expect my trust to come right away, I've lost too much for that."

"I will earn your trust," said Rex "I wish more of the Jedi had been like you, they trusted the Republic, and the clone armies too easily. Now, I need to see the Grand Master first."

Rex led the three Padawans to a room. It opened up to show an office with a blue creature, similar in appearance to Master Yoda.

"Yes, how can I help you, Captain Rex?" asked the creature

"I'd like a room for target practice for the padawans, Master Yano," said Rex

"We have just the room," said Master Yano, and walked briskly out of the room, much faster than Yoda, it was actually difficult to keep up with him. He led the four of them down to the under-levels, and to a room, where another master was teaching a class. The students were lined up, taking las-rifle shots at targets along another wall.

"There's a couple of unused rifles in the back, and if you have any queries, ask the instructor on duty here," said Yano, then left.

**Dean**

It was very difficult. Rex was a good teacher, but he wasn't a force user, so teaching a padawan wasn't his strong suit. He had only a basic understanding of the Force. He did his best, and the Padawans were making slow progress. Dean was falling behind. He was attempting to use the Force, but even with the focusing lens he was looking through, and the aid of the Force, he couldn't seem to hit the target.

"If I might make a suggestion," said a new voice. Dean looked round, to see a green-cloaked human "Try without the focusing lens. Feel the Force flowing through you, the weapon is an extension of your being, of your connection to the Force, similar to how you wield your lightsaber."

Dean, uncertainly at first, removed the sight from the top of the rifle, then brought it up, as Rex had showed him, and felt the Force flow through him, as he took the shot. It flew over the long distance of the firing range, and struck the target just a few cliks off the centre.

"My name Is Reelan," said the green-cloaked human, who Dean now noticed was female, as she pushed back her hood "I am the master here at the range, there are additional rooms for lightsaber practice, and lightsaber-to-gun combat, if you wish to practice mobile combat, the facilities of the Saber Knights are yours, for as long as you stay here."

"I thank you for your aid," said Dean, bowing respectfully to the range master "And I may take up your offer to use your facilities for mock-combat, this is my sister, Sera, our friend Seria, and Clone Captain Rex, formerly of the Republic Army."

"It is good to meet you, too," said Reelan "If you need more instruction, please drop by when I'm less busy. I'm happy to assist."

**Sera**

Dean was very protective of her. Even in all of their years in the temple, they had been unable to let go of their attachment to each other, as is the Jedi way. They trained together, fought as one. No single master could bear separate them, until Aayla Secura, who also used to have a sister within the order, saw something in Sera. Taking her under her wing for a while, Sera performed well in the initial assaults on Felucia, but she was never happy. It was this unhappiness that had caused her error in judgement in the liberation of Hoth, which almost got her killed, where Clone Captain Rex had saved her life.

After that, Aayla Secura had taken her before the council. She had said that the twins, Sera and Dean, should not have been separated in the first place. She told of the grief it had caused Sera, and how it had almost cost her life. How, if it had been longer, that grief could have changed into something more severe- a descent into the dark side. The council finally decreed that if a Master took one of the siblings, he or she would have to take both, or partner with another, creating, essentially an inseparable Jedi team. While Sera was grateful to Secura for keeping her and her brother together, Aayla Secura was not strong enough to handle the training of two Padawans at once, so regrettably resigned as Sera's master. And no Master had taken the Padawans to this day. Sera took another shot, the satisfying crack of the laser rifle actually managing to calm her thoughts. She hoped, one day, to find Aayla Secura, who had been on Felucia when Order 66 was called, assuming she was still alive, and bring her to safety. It was this that drove her on, the hope that even a few Jedi had survived the destruction of the order, as well as the knowledge that her brother was still safe.

"Seria, could I speak to you in private for a moment?" Seria followed Sera a few feet away from the range.

"What is it Sera?" asked Seria

"My former master, Aayla Secura," said Sera "She was on Felucia when Order 66 was called. My gut tells me she's still alive there, she was too good for a few clone troopers to stop her."

"When Ahsoka returns, we'll ask about it," said Seria "I should like to return home, too, make sure my family are safe, and I know Felucia better than anyone else. If your former master is still on Felucia, I should be able to find her."

Sera nodded at the Twi'lek padawan, who rolled her eyes, and then pulled Sera into a hug "It's OK to hug sometimes, you know," said Seria "We are friends afterall. With all we've been through, I almost consider you my sister."

"I've never had a sister before," said Sera "But forming attachments is against our code."

"The Jedi Order is gone," said Seria "And I think it's forbiddance of forming attachments is what dragged it down. Too many were turned away from the order because of prior attachments. You and your brother were some of the few exceptions I've heard of in the order's history."

"I would be honoured to be your sister, Seria," said Sera "But Dean would have to agree, I wouldn't do it otherwise."

"Understandable," said Seria, nodding "Let me know after you speak to him."


	7. Chapter 7

**Ahsoka**

The Saber Knights had told her much of their order on the journey to Illum, and she had to admit, she was impressed. Jedi spent years attempting to stay as much in the light as possible, denying the dark even existed. The Sith, on the other hand, thrived in the darkness, using it to gain more power. Essentially, the Jedi gained power through knowledge, while the Sith gained knowledge through power. It had been a welcome distraction to talk with the Saber Knights about their order. After seeing what her former Master had done, she really needed the distraction. How could Anakin fall so far? Did their time as Master and Apprentice mean nothing to him? With a thought, she wondered if she had in any way helped him along his dark path in any way.

"What troubles you, Padawan Tano?" asked Daria, from the door where she had just walked in.

"Thinking about Anakin," said Ahsoka "I feel like I knew him best, aside from Master Kenobi, so how did I not see this? Did anything I did cause his descent into darkness?" Ahsoka buried her head in her hands, so the Saber Knight would not see her crying. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Do not tell yourself that, Ahsoka Tano," said Daria. Ahsoka looked up, surprised. This was the first time either of the Saber Knights had called her by name, instead of an honorific "You cannot, and I say this with the utmost certainty, you cannot blame yourself for what Darth Vader did. The man you once knew is dead. Consumed by the darkness in his own heart. If you blame yourself for every evil thing he does from now on, you will never stop."

"You might be right," said Ahsoka, bringing her knees up onto the bed to put her arms around them "What are we going to do now? The Jedi Order is dead. I'm a Jedi in a universe where I don't know what a Jedi is anymore. With Masters Kenobi and Yoda off who knows where, I'm the oldest Jedi still accounted for. I can't run the order."

"You four cannot be the only Jedi to survive the Order's destruction," said Daria "Perhaps there are more aside from Masters Kenobi and Yoda."

"You're right," said Ahsoka "But with the clone troopers turning on their former masters, we cannot be sure of anything. We can find out where Jedi were stationed at least, then narrow down the places."

**Seria**

As Ahsoka's ship landed at the cloaked Saber Knight landing pad, the four of them were there to greet it. The two Saber Knights led Ahsoka down the ramp and towards the temple, creating a force bubble around the three of them to keep out the bitter wind of Illum. Seria turned up the folds of her winter cloak against the blizzard raging around them, as she looked over the group for any injuries. The three appeared to be unharmed, and she sighed in relief as the force bubble encompassed the four of them. They made their way to the temple in silence, waiting to see what Ahsoka had to say about her adventure in the Jedi Temple.

Ahsoka did not speak, other than to ask to go to the Saber Knight council chambers, to report her findings.

Like the Council room on Coruscant, the chairs were arranged in a semi-circle, with a space in the middle where someone who would appeal to the council would stand. Master Yano sat in the place where Jedi Grandmaster Yoda would have sat, in the former Jedi order, while Sona Seer occupied a seat to his left side. The rest of the council was made up of various alien beings, but with a single empty seat, which was promptly filled by Ray Tanner. Ahsoka took her place in the centre, as the council regarded her.

"I would like to bring before the council the issue of the destruction of the Jedi order," said Ahsoka "I am one of the last surviving Jedi accounted for, from what I've heard, many of the others have been gunned down by the clone troopers they trusted with their lives. But not all the Jedi were killed, we have been in contact with Masters Obi Wan and Yoda, of the former Jedi council, and we maintain the belief that there are still surviving Jedi on some of the planets they were stationed."

"And what would you have this council do about this?" asked Yano

"We would ask for the council's aid in finding the surviving Jedi, and bringing them here, to this temple to seek refuge."

"This is a foolish venture," said a Twi'lek sitting right at the edge of the semi-circle of chairs "We have survived as long as we did because we have remained hidden from both the Jedi and the Sith, maintained the balance between the two groups."

"Don't be a fool, Ar'lkaaan," said Sona Seer, in a bored-sounding voice "How do you think the balance will be disrupted if the Sith destroy the remaining Jedi. They have only remained balanced because the Jedi were there to stop their power from growing too fast. If there are no more Jedi to oppose them, how long do you think we can remain hidden before their power grows too great?"

"You are one to talk, Sona Seer, or should I say Darth Sylvanus," said Ar'lkaaan "Yes, do not forget your place, you were once a Sith, how do we know you are not still working for the Sith after all these years, and this is how you will betray the Saber Knights to them."

Sona stood up, twelve lightsabres flying from Ar'lkaaan's own robes, added to by six or seven of her own, poised to pierce every inch of his body at the same moment.

"Call me by that name again, and I will melt your body, until all that's left of you is a puddle on the ground," said Sona, her voice completely calm, although she was staring at Ar'lkaaan with a murderous look, but then it melted from her face "Know that I turned from that path long ago. I give you my word, and if you cannot trust my word after all of the Saber Knights I have trained, then I have misinterpreted your actions. The Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano's cause is a noble one, and I will aid them in its completion even if the council votes against it."

"As will I," said Ray Tanner "I have seen the destruction caused by Anakin Skywalker at the Jedi Temple. I know that the Saber Knights have a policy not to interfere with the Jedi and Sith unless absolutely necessary, but now the remaining Jedi are fugitives, running from the armies of the republic. We refrained from interfering in the previous war because both sides were balanced- Separatist Battle Droids against Republic Clone Troopers, but now the Sith control one of the largest armies this galaxy has yet seen, and the means to create more. The balance couldn't be more disrupted."

"Have we consulted The Patriarch on this?" asked Ar'lkaaan, still straining to get away from the eighteen lightsabers still pointed at him "In times of great need, we have contacted him before. He knows much, and he founded our order. Should he not be told?"

"We have been unable to contact him," said Yano "Until we can, we must do what we feel is right, and in my opinion, helping the Jedi find sanctuary is the right thing to do. However, this council is twelve in number, and only three have yet voted. All that wish to help the surviving Jedi, raise your hands."

He raised his own hand, as Sona followed suit, as did Ray. Slowly, eight more hands joined theirs in the air. Ar'lkaaan did not, but weather this was because he was against it, or he was afraid of the eighteen lightsabers still ignited at several points on his body, Seria wasn't sure.

"It is settled, then," said Sona, retrieving her lightsabers, which all deactivated, and attached themselves to the outside of her body, locking together like armour plates until Seria couldn't tell one from the other "We go to Felucia."

She walked over to the four Jedi as Ray and Daria joined her, and Arl'kaaan sat in his chair, looking weary. "There are dark times ahead," he said "Anonymity was our greatest defence, I would not give it up so lightly."

"There are no good options here, Master Arl'kaaan," said Sona, softly. Some of the lightsabers detached from her body and flew back to him, landing on the ground around him "You accused me of being in league with the Sith, tell me this, if we turn our backs on a galaxy that needs our aid, are we any better than those you hate?"

She turned, smiled at Seria, and beckoned the group to follow her.

**Sona**

Seria had impressed her, more than anyone had impressed her for a long time. Sona had lived through the entire Clone Wars, cursed by Palpatine to live forever, so that she could always see her failure. Hidden in the sanctuary of the Saber Knights, Sona had trained and trained, always held back from a full-on assault on Palpatine by the Saber Knight code of non-interference. The Force kept her looking young, as she trained Padawan after Padawan in the ways of the Saber Knights, finally becoming Swordmaster, the trainer of all Padawans until they found masters. The anger she felt wasn't at Palpatine, however, it was at herself for failing to stop him.

The Padawan Seria was bristling with untapped potential, something Sona knew was just below the surface. No Master short of Yano and herself could have handled her. Sona wished to take her on as her own apprentice, but Seria was not part of the Saber Knight Order. She pushed open the door to her lightsaber vault, numerous lightsabers flying out and attaching themselves to her, forming similar armour to the one she had created earlier.

"You may take anything that you need from here," said Sona, as she packed still more lightsabers into a satchel, which she slung over her back "This is my personal armoury, but I wanted to give you first pick."

It wasn't just lightsabers in the armoury. Sona had collected and invented numerous different weapons, all incorporating the Ilum crystals that powered the lightsaber. Dean picked up a large-barrelled blaster, whose barrels seemed to be for loading lightsabers. He picked up several, attaching them to his belt.

"You spoke well Ahsoka Tano," said Sona "Not many could have convinced the Saber Knights to go to war."

"It was not just me that convinced them to change their mind," said Ahsoka "You were a big help, and I expect the dire circumstances had something to do with it."

"You are too modest," said Sona "Although I think the Patriarch would have agreed with you, as well."

"Who is this Patriarch?" asked Ahsoka "That's the second time I've heard that name. Is he one of your order?"

"Technically, no," said Sona "Although our order is based on his ideas. Perhaps I will tell you his tale sometime, but we are preparing for war. Head for the docking bay. I'll meet you on your ship."


	8. Chapter 8

**Dean**

Dean sat in the hold of the ship, fiddling with the lightsaber gun in his hands. He had found it was easily customisable to any length, with options for multiple barrels for many, short ranged shots, to long barrels for longer ranged shots.

"I know when you're nervous about something," said Sera, sitting down on the bench next to him "It is better if you talk about it. Otherwise it will come out when you don't want it to, and it will hurt someone you care about."

Dean looked around fearfully at his sister, then relaxed, as she put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I'm worried about the battle," said Dean "I am not as strong in the Force as you are, but it means you are able to take more risks than I can. We're twins, we have to be able to protect each other, but I fear I am not strong enough in the Force to protect you."

"It is not about being strong in the Force only," said a voice. Ray Tanner was walking up the boarding ramp of the ship, Daria at his side "It is obvious you both have a strong bond with each other. You know each other's moves and actions more than any other person. Pool your collective Force power, fight as one, and you'll be able to perform feats that no single Force user: Jedi, Sith or Saber Knight, will be able to match."

"You seem to know much about our connection," said Dean "Are you a twin, too?"

Master Tanner did not answer immediately, his eyes closed as if the answer pained him to speak it.

"I'm sorry," said Sera, her eyes widening with pity "We won't question you on it again. Nobody should have to talk about that kind of loss."

"I will show you the basics of sharing your force powers between you," said Ray Tanner, assuming a calm expression once again "You should be able to figure out the rest from there."

**Padawan Seria**

When the four Jedi, former Clone Trooper and the three Saber Knights had assembled on the command deck of the Correlian Corvette, Ahsoka turned to Seria.

"I believe you are the best qualified to lead this mission, Seria," said Ahsoka "You know the planet better than any of us."

"But I've never taken command of anything before," said Seria "Would it not be more prudent to have someone with more battle experience making these decisions?"

"We can certainly advise," said Rex "But none of us have fought on Felucia. Who better to lead an assault on a planet, than one who's lived there?"

"We're setting a course for Felucia now," said Ahsoka "We've got six hours in hyperspace to come up with a plan to not only rescue the Jedi, but also take as many refugees off-planet as we can carry. I knew this Corvette's cargo hold would be good for something."

"I need some time alone to consider this," said Seria, leaving the ship's bridge.

**Ahsoka **

"She's been gone for two hours," said Ahsoka, as she paced the room "Maybe I should go look for her."

When no-one objected, Ahsoka left the room. She found Seria in the cargo hold, sitting on one of the crates of lightsabers the Saber Knights had brought with them. She sat down on a crate opposite Seria.

"I don't know what to do anymore," said Seria "When I was part of the Jedi Order, I had a code, I had a Master to consult about my decisions, but now, I find out there is another group that follow a different code, and then there's the Sith who follow a different path altogether. How do I know what code is the right one? And how can I rally a group that has a different set of beliefs to me to follow me into what will most likely be a suicide mission?"

"First of all, codes do not define who you are," said Ahsoka "Whatever order you follow, a common goal can unite people of different orders to work together. The Jedi, The Sith, The Saber Knights, they are connected by their use of the Force. From my understanding of the Saber Knight's philosophy, they exist to maintain the balance between good and evil. I don't believe this is solely within the Force. Otherwise, the balance would be ridiculously tipped in the favour of the light side. I think it's the balance of good and evil in the galaxy. In the current situation, therefore, the balance is tipped drastically in the favour of the Dark Side. I think the Saber Knights will help us, the balance must be restored to the galaxy, in order to restore balance to the Force."

"That doesn't really comfort me," said Seria "If any of the Saber Knights die in this rescue mission, they'll blame me for it. I've never commanded any clone armies, let alone an army of Force users."

"I thought the same as you once," said Ahsoka "In my first time commanding a squad, I made a mistake. Lost half my squad, and I thought they would hate me. Anakin chewed me out for it, too. Made me feel even worse. The clones might have been blindly following us, but that doesn't change the fact that it happened. One of the admirals came by, and he told me something: If you blame yourself for every time you messed up, you'd be here a while. Learn from your mistakes, but don't let them define you. So don't let your fear of taking command define you, you have people to advise you on strategy and tactics. You are commanding this mission because you know the planet, we can scan and collect data about the planet and Republic and Separatist presence there, but you can better coordinate our forces."

"All right," said Seria, getting up to go back to the bridge "I can't say I'm going to be a good leader, but I can promise I'll be the best one that I can be."

**Daria**

When the senior Jedi padawan, Ahsoka Tano, once again entered the room, Seria following her, Daria couldn't hide her sigh of relief. The Twilek had a look of grim resolve on her face, as she looked around the room, and then out of the viewport. A green and brown planet was visible not far off. The space around the planet was clear of ships, which was surprising. After the clones turned on the Jedi, every planet that had even the possibility to have living Jedi on it was blockaded by the armada of the Republic.

"All right, bring up scans of the planet, old ones, if we scan the planet now, there's a chance they'll notice our ships," said Seria. A holographic representation of the green planet outside the viewport appeared on the holo-projector. Blue and red dots indicated the positions of the Republic and Separatist forces on the planet, with yellow dots indicating civilisation.

"If she's smart, Aayla Secura will head for the civilised areas," said Seria "It'll be a treacherous path for her, but very few clone troopers will be able to easily follow her. We need to try and lock onto her Jedi transponder signal. Maybe we'll be able to get a message through."

"Remember, Anakin was a Jedi," said Ahsoka "We can't rely on the Jedi transponder. The Sith would be able to track the signal and find out where she is as much as we could."

"I could protect the message," said Daria "It won't take long for Republic codebreakers to break, but maybe we won't need that long."

"We need to keep the Republic busy so they can't send too many clones to where our ships got to extract Secura," said Seria "We should only need one ship to go and rescue her. We can use the gunship."

"Can the other Saber Knights provide a diversion?" asked Rex "I should be able to fool my brothers long enough to get Secura off-world if you can keep them too busy to look at their scanners too closely."

"I can lead a taskforce to attack the main Republic base," said Sona "While Master Tanner and Daria can work with you on your rescue mission."

"Ahsoka, you can go with Sona, you know the layout of the Felucia base," said Seria

"With all due respect, ma'am," said Rex "Going into the base is a bad idea. On familiar territory, one man can hold back an army. Better to draw them out than go into the base. I think Ahsoka should remain with us, she's the most senior Jedi present, so perhaps she should be present to speak with Master Secura."

"I still think there should be a Jedi present in the Saber Knight assault," said Seria "I will accompany them. The jungle is familiar territory to me, so I'll be able to better coordinate the attack."

"I see no problems with this plan," said Rex "Any other thoughts?" The rest of the make-shift war council shook their heads.

"Well, let's take positions," said Seria "I want to coincide the attack on the base with you moving towards Master Secura's position, so head for the gunship. We'll signal when we're going to commence the attack."

**Dean**

Dean looked around at the faces of most of the remaining Jedi in the galaxy. How could he protect Sera when he could barely protect himself? He was nervous, and his nervous energy seemed to permeate the ship. He tried to reach for Sera for comfort, like Master Tanner had taught them, and felt comforting energy coming from her. He relaxed. If they could work together, like Master Tanner said they could, they could accomplish anything.

**Ahsoka**

Ahsoka sat in the cockpit, watching video feed of Dean and Sera, sitting in companionable silence.

"I hope you knew what you were doing, putting Seria in charge of the mission," said Rex "She's an inexperienced commander, she could make a mistake that would cost us the mission."

"As could an experienced commander, Rex," Ahsoka replied "Everyone makes mistakes, some aren't even suited to command. Seria could make a mistake that costs us the mission, but equally, she gives this mission a high chance of success. Without her, we'd be flying in blind, without any tactical information about the area that's useful. Now, we know where Aayla Secura is, we know she's alive, and now that we're on the planet, we should be able to contact her without raising suspicion."

"That was part of the plan?" Rex asked

"Well, we didn't want to rely on a Jedi transponder," said Ahsoka "But I have another theory about where Aayla Secura is, and it won't need a transponder signal."

"What do you have in mind?" asked Rex, his helmet turning to look at Ahsoka.

"Are there any Separatist transmissions still operating on Felucia?" asked Ahsoka

"There doesn't seem to be any droid activity," said Rex "But, there are a couple of bases still active." "Patch me into one of those signals," said Ahsoka

"You really think Master Secura is in a Separatist base?" asked Rex, disbelievingly "That's the last place that would be safe for a Jedi to be."

"Trust me," said Ahsoka "Patch me through."

Rex punched a few buttons on the console, and a holographic image of a line of deactivated droids came up on the hologram.

"Next one," said Ahsoka, and Rex complied. The second room looked similar in design to the first, but this one was completely empty, no droids, but no Secura either.

"Last one," said Ahsoka, crossing her fingers as Rex brought up the third base. Sitting on what appeared to be a storage crate, was a severely bruised and battered Aayla Secura. She was a Twilek, pretty tall for her kind, wearing two lightsabers on her waist, her lekku stopping about midway down her back.

"Aayla Secura, I presume," said Ahsoka. The Jedi started, looking over at the holoprojector.

"Ahsoka?" asked Aayla, relief in her voice "It's good to see your face. I never thought I'd see another Jedi alive again. Did you find anyone else?"

"I brought a few from the temple with me," said Ahsoka "And we've met Masters Kenobi and Yoda, although their whereabouts are currently unknown. We're on our way to your position. Sit tight, you'll be able to leave this place soon."

"I can't leave yet," said Aayla, slumping slightly "One of our own has turned, joining with this new regime Palpatine is creating, hes been tracking me since the Clones turned on me. I'm afraid he's too far gone to bring back to the light. He will need to be put down."

"We're coming to you," said Ahsoka "It might be better to live to fight another day. You're tired, injured, if you try to fight in this state, you will end up dead. We will aid you to fight, we are stronger together."

"Very well," said Aayla "I await your arrival."

Ahsoka terminated the link.

"We're ready to go," said Ahsoka into her comm, as the gunship lifted off. The Saber Knight ships all vanished, one by one, as if they had faded out of existence, but Ahsoka could feel the vibrations of the Force coming from the places where they had vanished.

Rex piloted the ship towards the Separatist base. As expected, a hailing message came from the Republic base.

"You'd better head back into the hold," said Rex "Best you not be seen."

Ahsoka retreated, but kept at a distance where she could see the terminal.

A holographic projection of a robed Jedi appeared on the screen.

"Identify yourself," said the Jedi, in a bored voice

"CT341789, Sir," said Rex "Sent from a nearby moon base with orders to sweep the planet for surviving Separatist activity, can't be too careful, you know."

"I was not informed of the sweep, Trooper," said the Jedi, then his eyes closed as he concentrated "There is deception in your words. Your ship emits a strong Force presence. Clone Captain Rex, you are harbouring fugitives of the Republic. Land immediately, or we will open fire."

**Sona**

The cloaked ships hovered over the Republic base, invisible to electronic and Force senses alike. Several Saber Knights dropped down into the jungle, hidden by the trees and foliage. Sona directed them to different areas around the base, with Seria's advice, but then Seria had left with a mission of her own.

"Attack on my mark," said Sona, sending the signal to the rest of the Saber Knights. Dozens of grenades were simultaneously lobbed over the walls of the base. All exploded, filling the area with clouds of smoke. Through the mist, hundreds of lightsabers could be seen, as they weaved through the fog, killing clone troopers before they could even see the Jedi they were fighting. The clones responded, switching to night vision on their helmets. They still couldn't see any of the Jedi the lightsabers belonged to, as more grenades were lobbed into the base. When these one's exploded, they created a blinding light that overwhelmed the night vision.

Then, Sona felt the powerful force presence, as a cloaked figure walked out of the base, and held up her hands, clearing the fog from the area. Pulling back her hood, she revealed herself to be a bald-headed humanoid. She drew two lightsabers from her belt, and ignited them. Sona felt the dark side coursing through this woman, as two of the Saber Knights jumped into the base to fight her. Force lightning came from her entire body, pushing out from her like an electromagnetic pulse. The two Saber Knights both attempted to absorb the lightning, but Sona knew they would be consumed by it.

"Saber Knights, absorption aid," she said, jumping out of the ship she had been watching from and into the base, adding her own force absorption powers to the other two. Several more Saber Knights joined her, unable to attack the Sith, but keeping her pulse of lightning at bay as the energy was absorbed. One by one, the other Saber Knights dropped to the ground, unable to continue the force absorption. Eventually, only Sona remained standing, as the Sith, too, fell into unconsciousness, the force dome dissipating as she did.

Sona turned, looking at her fighting force, too weak to fight on, and realised the Sith warrior's true objective, as the clone troopers around her took aim at the last Saber Knight left standing- her.

**Ahsoka**

The Separatist base was eerily silent, the deactivated battle droids like skeletal statues keeping sentinel over the base. Ahsoka was wary of the droids, believing they would come to life at any moment. The small group of Jedi and Saber Knights searched the base, following the force signature of Aayla Secura.

They found her in the same room Ahsoka had seen her before, sitting against one wall, and staring at the opposite wall.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Ahsoka, and Aayla Secura turned to the six figures, immediately zeroing in on Clone Captain Rex. She ignited her lightsabers, nimbly somersaulting over the group and putting her lightsabers at his helmeted neck.

"You led them right to me," she said, panicked "Why would a Jedi help an army fighting against them?"

"Master Secura," said Ahsoka, firmly "Captain Rex has been invaluable to us in escaping the Jedi Temple. He has saved our lives several times in the past few weeks, and I have seen no indication he is untrustworthy."

Aayla Secura looked at Ahsoka, there was something in her eyes that Ahsoka couldn't interpret, like Secura didn't know what to make of her, or the clone trooper that would willingly turn on his brothers to help the enemy.

"Master Secura," said Sera, stepping towards her as Dean stepped to the other side, both putting their hands on one of Secura's arms, and gently pulling her lightsabers down from where they were crossing Rex's neck "Ahsoka speaks the truth, Rex could have killed us in the Temple, Ahsoka could have killed him, but neither of them did. Rex isn't like his brothers."

Secura, her arms now down at her sides, deactivated her lightsabers.

"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," she said, turning her attention to the Saber Knights.

"We are neither of your order, nor the Sith," said Tanner "Our order is predicated on the balance between light and dark. We are offering sanctuary to these Jedi, as well as the defected clone Captain Rex. We can offer you sanctuary, as well, if you wish it."

"We still need to find the rogue Jedi I told you about," said Aayla Secura "Ahsoka, it's not just him that's here, Ventress survived. She's here, powered by some dark force. But she's not the only one here, a Jedi Master called Quinlan Vos accompanies her, he used to be my master. He apparently fell in love with Ventress during the Clone Wars, and nearly turned to the Dark Side."

"And you don't believe he is currently under the influence of the Dark Side?" asked Daria.

"I do not," said Secura "He was in love with Ventress, she's changed, possessed by something I've never seen before. He was deep enough in Dooku's inner circle, that I think that whoever is behind this would find more use for him alive."

"We should return to the base," said Master Tanner "They need to know this information."

"We'll take you to our ship in orbit, Master Secura," said Ahsoka "You need to rest after this ordeal."

"I'll be fine," said Secura, though she immediately swayed, and nearly collapsed, but retained her balance.

"The Force has been sustaining you for all this time, hasn't it?" said Tanner "We'll go and drop her off at our ship in orbit, and then go help our friends."

**Sona**

It was as she stood off with the clone troopers, all of their blasters targeted at her, that the second force user appeared. It started with the ground shaking below them, then a body erupted out of the ground, green lightsaber igniting as he did. Five clone troopers on jetpacks also came out of the hole.

"Leave her alone," said the apparent Jedi, his voice low and threatening, as wild as the jungle around them. He wore torn Jedi robes, and his hair was wild and untamed.

"I do not wish to fight you, Jedi," said Sona, as the jetpack Clone Troopers took aim "I did nothing to this one, she let out a massive lightning storm, and fell unconscious."

"If you meant her no harm, prove it to me. Deactivate your lightsaber, and hand it over," said the Jedi

"I can see that nothing else will make you trust me," said Sona, deactivating the one visible lightsaber on her person, and holding it out. The Jedi held out his hand, and the lightsaber flew into his hand.  
The clone troopers on either side of him charged their weapon packs. However, just as they were about to fire, the Jedi turned, igniting both his lightsabers, and slicing off their heads in one motion.

"There isn't much time," said the Jedi, in a business-like way, as he threw his lightsabers, scything through six clone troopers each, before returning to him "There are 500 more Clones below, coming up the stairs right now."

As he said it, the doors to the base flew open, and clones started pouring out, taking cover and firing positions. However, at the same time, several massive, green creatures with six legs and long necks crashed out of the jungle, through the low perimeter wall, and into the throng of clone troopers, the familiar form of Seria jumping from one of their backs, and igniting both her lightsabers. Several clones turned to fire at them, as Seria charged through the lances of fire, deflecting where necessary, but her speed being her greatest defence, as more jetpack troopers came out of the hole, and quickly took to the sky, making to fire on the unconscious Saber Knights. Sona sat down on the ground, the lightsabers that formed her armour- dozens of lightsabers probably hundreds- detached themselves from her body, leaving her blue robes and moving to deflect the blaster bolts from all directions. When realising they couldn't harm the unconscious Saber Knighs, they turned their blasters on Sona. Focusing on maintaining the lightsabers, Sona was powerless to stop it.

The unnamed Jedi that had saved her ignited his lightsaber, and deflected the blast back at the gun that fired it, knocking it from the hand of the jetpack trooper carrying it. Seria jumped, once again to the back of one of the creatures Sona identified as Acklay, and it ran up the wall of the base and to the roof, as Seria somersaulted off its back and onto the back of one of the clone troopers, slicing his jetpack in half as she jumped to the next one, and the next. The Acklay creatures continued attacking the ground clones, and Sona noticed, camouflaged against their green hide, were several other Twi-leks, their skin and lekku green, like Seria's, stabbing the clone troopers with spears and sharp sticks. While these were doing very little to the armoured troopers, pinpoint hits might knock a blaster out of the hand of a trooper. It would only take a second to retrieve it, but a second was all an Acklay needed to bite the troopers head off, kick out with one of its six legs, or trample it underfoot. It was interesting, seeing the natives, who were usually so at-odds with the predatory creatures that lived on Felucia, living in such harmony with those very creatures.

**Ahsoka**

"Ahsoka to Sona, we have completed the mission, withdraw," said Ahsoka into the com-link.

"Understood," said Sona "Just mopping up here, we defeated a strange bald-headed Sith, and a Jedi gave himself up to us. Rendevous in orbit. We can decide what to do with them there."

"We'll be there soon," said Ahsoka, wearily "What about the natives?"

"We've offered them sanctuary, and some have accepted, Seria brings one of the Acklay as well," said Sona "She was quite insistent."

"She told us a story once about an Acklay she pacified when it attacked her village," said Ahsoka "It was what calmed her down after the Temple."

"We're bringing down a larger carrier to take the Acklay to the command ship," said Sona "We'll meet you back on the command ship."

Ahsoka deactivated her comm "Ventress is alive, and captured by the Saber Knights. It appears your master has also joined with the Saber Knights," said Ahsoka

"That is good to hear," said Aayla, wearily "I should like to hear more about these Saber Knights, but I am weary, they shall be just as interesting after I wake up…" Ahsoka looked over, and realised Aayla Secura had fallen asleep.

"Just as we reach the ship, she decides to take a nap," said Ahsoka, as she caught Aayla with the Force before she hit the ground, and lowered her gently "Help me lift her in." Sera and Daria added their Force power to levitate Aayla Secura into the ship.

"Let's get out of here before the Republic realise we were here," said Rex, starting up the ship and making for orbit.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ahsoka**

Ahsoka looked at the bald-headed pawn of Count Dooku, wondering what had happened after her trial. Ventress had helped her, she was the only one to help her when it was the Jedi that were coming after her. Ventress had renounced her dark ways, while she had not returned to the Jedi Order, believing herself too far gone for that, she had at least ended her relationship with Count Dooku. Another thing puzzled her, Ventress had been emanating force lightning, like a storm, with red eyes and an evil aura. Where did that come from? Ventress was not that strong in the Force. But from the Saber Knights' and Quinlan Vos' descriptions, Ahsoka kept on seeing fragments of a strange planet she couldn't remember the name of, a being of light, a being of darkness and a being somewhere in-between. She saw flashes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and her former Master in these visions as well, but she couldn't make sense of the disconnected fragments. She vowed to go talk with Yano about it when they returned to the temple.

"Ahsoka?" She realised Daria had been standing patiently in the doorway of her chambers while she meditated.

"What do you need, Daria?" asked Ahsoka

"We've set a course for Ilum, we should be there in a few hours," said Daria "Ventress and Vos will stand trial for their crimes against the Force."

"How do you guys even judge people if you operate outside of the known galaxy?" asked Ahsoka

"We judge how much they tip the balance of the Force," said Daria "Then, offer them redemption as part of the Saber Knights if their tipping isn't too bad."

"I don't think Ventress was herself," said Ahsoka "Whenever I look at her, I get flashes, a planet that changes due to the currents of the Force, whenever I am told of how she was when the base was attacked, I see three beings: one of light, one of darkness, and one that seems to be a balance of both. I don't understand it."

"Ahsoka, some Saber Knights spend years trying to see what you just told me about," said Daria, her eyes wide "How have you even seen it? That's not possible."

"What is it I'm seeing?" asked Ahsoka "What do you mean your order has been looking for this for ages?"

"I can't explain it right now," said Daria "It's too complicated, even I don't fully understand it, but it has something to do with The Patriarch."

"I still don't know who or what this Patriarch is," said Ahsoka, confusedly "What does he have to do with my visions?"

"Maybe nothing, maybe something," said Daria, shrugging "It was just my theory."

**Padawan Seria**

Seria had not left the side of the Acklay she had met in the jungle since they had left Felucia. She sensed this was the same Acklay that had spared her when they had attacked her village. She felt connected to it, the Acklay was connected to her, she couldn't explain how, but she felt like she had been connected to it for a long time.

"That is a very powerful Force bond you have with that creature," said Sona, as she entered the cargo area where the Acklay and Seria were.

"Force bond?" asked Seria "Like with a Jedi Master and Padawan?"

"Similar, Seria," said Sona "The Jedi shy away from attachments, but the Force Bond is something they deem necessary. But what they don't know, is that the Force Bond is a lot more common in the galaxy at large. On planets that are strong in the Force, bonds have been formed between riders and their mounts, mothers with their children. I believe that you formed such a bond with this Acklay, and that is why it left your village untouched."

"How's everyone holding up?" asked Seria "Is Aayla Secura all right? Did we win?"

"I got word from Ahsoka, they're all fine, we're on our way back to Illum, Ahsoka might have something to tell the council," said Sona "I'm also interested to know what you and the other Jedi plan to do next."

"We would like to continue searching for Jedi," said Seria "Aayla Secura was only the first, and we were fortunate enough to find another in searching for her. Hopefully we can track down the Jedi who were on the fringes of the war, the ones that had the fewest clone soldiers. We find them, we might find Jedi who survived the treachery of the Republic."

Another Saber Knight entered the room.

"We're receiving a transmission on the Senate channel," he said "You two may want to see this."

Seria patted the sleeping creature that had spared her, and rose "Lead on, friend."

**Ahsoka **

"…the attempt on my life has left me scarred," said the hooded figure on the holo-screen "But my resolve has never been stronger."

Palpatine paused there for a moment for the applause to die down.

"It can't be true," said Ahsoka "This is not the Jedi way, assassination? A Jedi plot?"

"You really don't know who runs your government, do you?" said Daria. Ahsoka was about to ask what Daria meant, but the man who claimed he was Palpatine spoke again.

"In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic shall be reorganised, into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society," said Palpatine, as the Senate erupted into applause again.

"Oh dear," said Ray "This is not good. They just put the most dangerous man in the galaxy in charge of it."

"Palpatine?" asked Ahsoka "Sure, he's powerful, but he's got the best interests of the Republic at heart."

"I guess it's true, the puppet can never see the string-master," said Daria "Ahsoka, what do you know about the Sith Lord Sidious?"

"He's the one the Jedi believe was Dooku's Master," said Ahsoka "And Darth Maul before that, if the stories are to be believed."

"Believe me, Darth Sidious is only too real," said Ray "In fact, you just saw him crown himself Emperor of the Galaxy."

"The Senators will never agree to this," said Ahsoka "How could we have been so blind?"

"Many did not see the deception, Ahsoka Tano," said Daria "The Saber Knights even struggled to catch it, and we were too late to do much about it. Palpatine already had too much power."

"Unfortunately, Ahsoka, the Senators will support Palpatine," said Ray "Some out of a bid to increase their own power, others out of a fear of their own safety. Any resistance to Palpatine's rule will not happen in the senate."

"Your people have a vested interest in restoring balance to the Force," said Ahsoka "You've helped us rescue Jedi, will you aid us in destroying the Sith?"

"We don't have the resources," said Ray "We can help you train, help to get you as prepared as possible, but we cannot bring the full might of the Saber Knights to bear. We already revealed too much on Felucia."

"I understand," said Ahsoka "In that case, I believe myself and the other surviving Jedi should learn as much as we can from your order, and then make for Alderaan."

"Why Alderaan?" asked Daria "I know their senator helped Master Yoda, but surely going to a place so near to Coruscant would be suicide."

"It's also a place the Senate wouldn't think to look," said Ahsoka "And I trust Bail Organa to keep his silence. I would still welcome both of your aid, if you would be agreeable to accompanying us."

"We would be agreeable to it," said Ray "But we would need to speak with the council. They don't have the power to stop us, but I'd still like to hear their advice on the mission at hand."

"How does your council work, anyway?" asked Ahsoka "You all voted on our actions on Felucia."

"That was because it involved the whole order, it was more myself that had to convince the council to help us than the council dictating what we were to do," said Ray "Think of our council as advisors, more than an authority. We believe in allowing for our people to follow their own path, but always keeping the balance between light and dark."

"The more I think about the Jedi code," said Ahsoka "The more I see how it pushed Anakin towards the Dark Side. His love for his mother, his love for Padme, it drove a rift between him and the Jedi from the very start. I'm no longer a Jedi, and perhaps it would be better if I don't try to follow the same ideals."

"It sounds like you are beginning to adopt the viewpoint of the Saber Knights," said Ray "Perhaps you should apply to one of the Masters to be an apprentice here."

"I almost feel like all of the Jedi could benefit from basic Saber Knight training," said Ahsoka "If nothing else, it'll give us an edge if we have to fight against Sith, or Dark Jedi."

"Well, Sona could take on the four of you at the same time, if needed, but I'd be more than happy to train Dean and Sera," said Ray "If the last few days has been any indication, Daria is ready to become a full Saber Knight."

"You mean it, Master?" asked Daria, looking to him.

"You'll have to undertake The Trial, but after that, you'll be a Saber Knight," said Ray "You are most certainly ready for this. You've done exceptionally well these last few days."

Daria gave him a quick hug. "Thank you so much, Master. But you know it was only through your teachings that I came this far."

"I think you underestimate your own abilities," said Ray "But this argument is beginning to circle. Needless to say, I would be glad to take on Dean and Sera as my apprentices, perhaps with the aid of Master Secura, as training two padawans at once would be perhaps too much of a challenge for me."

"Seria has already benefitted from Master Seer's training," said Ahsoka "I wonder how I will benefit."

"Only time will tell," said Master Tanner, as the ship came out of hyperspace above Illum.


End file.
